Systems and methods for the management of huddle board participants

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for managing a list of huddle board participants are disclosed. The huddle collaboration system includes a huddle management system having an authentication module, a data processing module, a huddle board management module, and a module manager, among other suitable components. The system runs an automatic process to update a list of huddle boards and huddle board participants, which includes the process of adding or eliminating team members from the list of participants of one or more huddle boards and/or modifying a dotted line member&#39;s permissions within one or more huddle boards. The huddle board management module enables the automatic update of permissions assigned to a team member in one or more huddle boards, in a faster and more accurate manner; therefore enhancing the productivity of the huddle and leveraging the human and information technology resource of the company.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/155,357, entitled “Systems and Methods for the Management of HuddleBoard Participants,” filed May 16, 2016, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/161,397, entitled “Systemsand Methods for the Management of Huddle Board Participants,” filed May14, 2015, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates in general to collaboration systems, andmore specifically to systems and methods for the management of a list ofhuddle board participants.

BACKGROUND

Typically, team members working on one or more projects within a companycollaborate together in a micro-meeting or huddle on a regular basis.These huddles allow for collaboration in the sharing of information,discussion of important topics, evaluating project performance,identifying issues, and/or solving problems. Since the introduction ofthe huddle concept, whiteboards have acted as the traditional tool forstoring information collected during an active huddle session. However,a drawback of this huddle methodology is that it may not be possible forall participants in a meeting to be in the same physical location at thesame time.

Alternatives to overcome the challenge of gathering team members who maybe at different locations for a huddle include the use of acollaboration system integrating one or more collaboration tools, suchas conference phone calls, video conferences, Internet relay chat (IRC),emails, and instant messaging, among others. These automatedcollaboration systems are useful for promoting the information-sharingprocess between participants, increasing the productivity of theparticipants by providing means to organize ideas, time, work andefforts, and helping participants to keep track of the project's goals.However, whenever a participant changes his/her role within theorganization, manual updates of the groups of participants in a huddleare required, which can be time-consuming and can be prone to humanerror and oversight.

Therefore, there is a need for systems and methods to automaticallymanage a group of participants in a huddle to overcome these and otherdrawbacks of traditional approaches.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure describes systems and methods for the managementof huddle board participants.

According to an embodiment, a computer-implemented huddle collaborationsystem includes different components that dynamically interact with eachother through suitable communication networks. In this embodiment, thehuddle collaboration system includes one or more internal databases, oneor more electronic huddle board databases and one or more humanresources databases operatively coupled to a huddle management system,among other components. The huddle management system includes one ormore authentication modules, one or more data processing modules, one ormore huddle board management modules, and one or more module managers,among other suitable software modules. Further to this embodiment, thehuddle collaboration system also includes any suitable user interfacethrough which users such as, huddle leaders and huddle participants,interact with the huddle management system by means of a computingdevice. The computing device is any computer type device that receives,processes, and/or transmits digital data. The computing device includesa bus which enables the communication between components such asinput/output devices, one or more interfaces, one or more memories, oneor more storage devices and one or more central processing units, amongother system components.

In some embodiments, a computer-implemented huddle collaboration systemgenerates a suitable user interface to provide authorized users withmeans to manage a list of huddle board participants. In this embodiment,the user interface is a portion of a huddle board that displays amanaging board with one or more components of a huddle board, as wellas, one or more users associated with the huddle board, such as a boarddelegate and one or more board members. Further to this embodiment, theuser interface provides means for hiding one or more team members,removing or searching for one or more dotted line members, searching forone or more delegate members, and manually including one or more teammembers to the list of huddle board participants, among other features.

In one embodiment, a computer-implemented huddle collaboration systemgenerates a suitable user interface to provide each user with means tomanage their huddle boards. In this embodiment, the user interfacedisplays each user with one or more huddle boards that the user wishesto view by default using a hierarchical organization. Further to thisembodiment, the user interface provides means for selecting one or morehuddle boards to analyze additional information of the selected huddleboard, and searching for one or more huddle boards, one or moreindividuals and/or one or more teams, among other features.

According to another embodiment, a computer-implemented method formanaging a list of huddle board participants includes generating a listof huddle boards and huddle board participants based on informationderived from a data feed provided by a human resources database, mergingdepartments when needed, generating a list of huddle boards based oninformation derived from an electronic huddle board database, analyzingand updating the huddle boards from the list derived from the latestdata feed received, generating a list of participants based oninformation derived from the electronic huddle board database, analyzingand updating the participants of the huddle board, updating the parentand child links of the huddle board, removing the analyzed huddle boardfrom the list of huddle boards derived from information stored in theelectronic huddle board database, identifying the remaining huddleboards in the list of huddle boards derived from information stored inthe electronic huddle board database, and marking those remaining huddleboards as inactive in the electronic huddle board database.

Further to this embodiment, a computer-implemented method forautomatically updating a huddle board includes the following steps:analyzing each huddle board from a list of huddle boards generated frominformation derived from the latest data feed provided by a humanresources database, and determining whether the analyzed huddle boardhas a corresponding huddle board in the list of huddle boards generatedfrom information derived from an electronic huddle board database. Ifthere is no corresponding huddle board in the electronic huddle boarddatabase, then the method also includes the step of creating a newhuddle board in the electronic huddle board database. If there is acorresponding huddle board in the electronic huddle board database, andthe name of the huddle board has changed, then the method also includesthe step of updating the huddle board's name field in the electronichuddle board database.

In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method for automaticallyupdating a list of huddle board participants includes the followingsteps: analyzing each team member from the list of huddle boardparticipants derived from the latest data feed provided by a humanresources database, and determining whether the analyzed huddle boardparticipant is in the list of huddle board participants generated frominformation derived from an electronic huddle board database. If thehuddle board participant is not in the list of huddle board participantsgenerated from information derived from the electronic huddle boarddatabase, then the method also includes the step of adding an entry forthe huddle board participant in the electronic huddle board database. Ifthe huddle board participant is in the list of huddle board participantsgenerated from information derived from the electronic huddle boarddatabase, then the method also includes the step of determining whetherthe huddle board participant is in an organizational chart (also knownas an “org chart or organization chart”) of the company. If the huddleboard participant is in the organizational chart of the company, thenthe method also includes the step of adding the huddle board participantto the list of huddle board participants. However, if the huddle boardparticipant is not in the organizational chart of the company, then themethod also includes the steps of removing the huddle board participantfrom the list of huddle board participants in the huddle board andremoving the huddle board participant from the list of members in theorganizational chart of the human resources database.

Systems and methods for managing a list of huddle board participantsenable the automatic update of permissions assigned to a team member inone or more huddle boards, in a faster and more accurate manner;therefore allowing team members to remotely connect to huddles in aconsistent way, which reinforces the company's management systemapproach across multiple levels in the organization. In addition, thesystem enhances the productivity of the huddle and leverages the humanand information technology resource of the company. Numerous otheraspects, features and benefits of the present disclosure may be madeapparent from the following detailed description taken together with thedrawing figures.

In one embodiment, a system comprises an electronic huddle board datastore configured to store a record of each huddle board; and a servercommunicatively coupled to the electronic huddle board data store andconfigured to identify one or more huddle board participants from ahuman resources data store who are identified in the electronic huddleboard data store as being associated with at least one huddle boardrecord, determine a permission level for each huddle board participantfor each huddle board record, determine any changes to an organizationchart retrieved from a data store, update each permission level for eachhuddle board participant for each huddle board record based upon anychanges to the organization chart involving the huddle boardparticipant, store each updated permission level in the electronichuddle board database, and transmit data describing how to render one ormore huddle boards associated with the one or more huddle board recordsto a huddle board participant based upon the updated permission level.

In another embodiment, a computer-implemented method comprisesgenerating, by a server, a record for each huddle board record derivedfrom an electronic huddle board data store; obtaining, by the server, aset of records identifying one or more huddle board participants derivedfrom a human resources data store who are identified in the electronichuddle board data store as being associated with at least one huddleboard record; determining, by the server, a permission level for eachhuddle board participant for each huddle board record; determining, bythe server, any changes to an organization chart retrieved from a datastore; updating, by the server, each permission level for each huddleboard participant for each huddle board record based upon any changes tothe organization chart involving the huddle board participant; storing,by the server, each updated permission level in the electronic huddleboard data store; and transmitting, by the server, data describing howto render one or more huddle boards associated with one or more huddleboard records to a huddle board participant based upon the updatedpermission level.

In yet another embodiment, a computer implemented method comprisesreceiving, by a server, a request for a huddle board participant toaccess an electronic huddle board session; obtaining, by the server, arecord of the huddle board participant from a human resources datastore; querying, by the server, an electronic huddle board data store todetermine whether the huddle board participant is entitled to access theelectronic huddle board session; and updating, by the server, theelectronic huddle board data store based upon changes in anorganizational chart of a company employing the huddle boardparticipant.

Additional features and advantages of an embodiment will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription. The objectives and other advantages of the invention willbe realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out inthe exemplary embodiments in the written description and claims hereofas well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure can be better understood by referring to thefollowing figures. The components in the figures are not necessarily toscale. The emphasis is instead placed upon illustrating the principlesof the disclosure. In the figures, reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the different views.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system architecture for aremote huddle collaboration system, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computing device inwhich one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may operate,according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a sub-system of a systemarchitecture pertaining to a huddle management system, according to anembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary user interface of a listof huddle board participants, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5A is a an exemplary user interface for managing a team member'shuddle board, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5B is an exemplary user interface for managing a team member'shuddle board, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for managing a list of huddle boardparticipants, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method for automatically updating a huddleboard, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method for automatically updating a list ofhuddle board participants, according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure herein is described in detail with reference toembodiments illustrated in the drawings, which form a part here. Otherembodiments may be used and/or other changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Theillustrative embodiments described in the detailed description are notmeant to be limiting of the subject matter presented here.

As used here, the following terms may have the following definitions:

“Active huddle” refers to a huddle board which a leader has started andto which one or more participants join remotely through a huddlecollaboration system.

“Dotted line member” or non-subordinate member refers to a team memberwho is included in a huddle board by the huddle board's leader, eventhough the team member does not officially work for the huddle board'sleader according to an organizational chart of the company.

“Huddle” refers to a group of two or more members of a team, broughttogether on a regular basis to recognize outstanding contributions,evaluate performance, identify issues and solve problemscollaboratively.

“Huddle board” refers to a user interface generated by a huddlecollaboration system which displays the content collected during ahuddle in the form of one or more sub-applications.

“Leader” refers to a team member that initiates and manages a huddlesession. A leader has an additional set of permissions to manage ahuddle board, including for example, the ability to create huddleboards, configure or otherwise modify a huddle session, among otherpermissions.

“Sub-application” refers to a software tool that enables remotecollaboration between authenticated team members in a digital huddleenvironment.

“Team member” refers to a user that participates in remote huddlecollaboration by means of a computing device. The user is part of theteam performing tasks of a particular project.

“Team Member's Profile” refers to the attributes which are associatedwith each team member such as the team member's position within thecompany, their professional certifications and/or qualifications, aswell as other attributes.

The present disclosure describes systems and methods for managing huddleboard participants. The system runs an automatic process on a regularbasis to update a list of huddle board participants. This includes theprocess of adding or eliminating team members from the list ofparticipants of one or more huddle boards and/or modifying a dotted linemember's permissions within one or more huddle boards.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system architecture for aremote huddle collaboration system, according to an embodiment. In FIG.1, system architecture 100 further includes one or more internaldatabases 104, one or more electronic huddle board databases 106, one ormore human resources (HR) databases 108, one or more huddle managementsystems 110, one or more client computing devices 122, and a pluralityof servers (not shown in FIG. 1) having the necessary hardware andsoftware to implement any of the aforementioned system components thatrequire implementation via such necessary hardware and software, amongothers. In some embodiments, huddle management system 110 furtherincludes one or more authentication modules 112, one or more dataprocessing modules 114, one or more huddle board management modules 116,one or more module managers 118 and any other software module(s)required for the proper operation of huddle management system 110.

In FIG. 1, huddle management system 110 is operatively coupled tointernal database 104, electronic huddle board database 106, and humanresources database 108 through communication networks 102. Communicationnetwork 102 refers to any communication network between computers suchas, for example, intranets, local area networks (LANs), virtual privatenetworks (VPNs), wide area networks (WANs) and the internet, amongothers. In some embodiments, each software module within huddlemanagement system 110 is implemented as code running on a processingunit configured for running related algorithms or computer executableprogram instructions that are executed by a server, a single computer,or multiple computers within a distributed configuration. In theseembodiments, the processing unit is configured to interact with one ormore software modules of the same or different type, operating withinhuddle management system 110. Further to these embodiments, eachprocessing unit includes a processor with computer-readable medium suchas, for example, random access memory (RAM), coupled to the processor.Examples of suitable processor types include a microprocessor, anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and a field programmableobject array (FPOA), among others. Examples of firmware and/or hardwareand associated software enabling functionality of the aforementionedsystem components will be further described in FIG. 2, below.

In FIG. 1, internal database or data store 104 is implemented as arelational database that provides the functions of fetching, indexing,and storing data. In some embodiments, internal database 104 stores datagenerated by one or more software modules operating within huddlemanagement system 110. In these embodiments, internal database 104provides aforementioned generated data and other stored data and filesto one or more software modules within huddle management system 110 forfurther analysis. In an example, the aforementioned generated data canbe the data and files uploaded by a user, such as, a huddle leader or ahuddle participant, to one or more huddle boards; an organizationalchart (also known as an “org chart or organization chart”) of thecompany showing the positions of each team member and the existingrelationships between them; and the like.

In FIG. 1, electronic huddle board database or data store 106 isimplemented as a relational database that provides the functions offetching, indexing, and storing data. In some embodiments, electronichuddle board database 106 stores data generated by one or more softwaremodules operating within huddle management system 110. In theseembodiments, electronic huddle board database 106 providesaforementioned data and other stored data and files to one or moresoftware modules within huddle management system 110 for furtheranalysis. Example of the aforementioned data include: the profile ofeach huddle board including an identification (ID) field whichidentifies each huddle board within electronic huddle board database106; the profile of each team member including a unique ID whichidentifies each team member within electronic huddle board database 106;the links between one or more huddle boards and one or more team membersvia one or more ID fields; and the link between huddle boards todetermine hierarchy; among others.

The huddle board may be generated and stored within the electronichuddle board database, or a user may generate an ad-hoc board that canbe merged into the electronic huddle board database, converted to aformat appropriate for the electronic huddle board database, and linkedto other huddle boards with the electronic huddle board database. As aresult, the huddle board does not need to be generated in the huddlemanagement system in order to be integrated and comply with theprocesses set forth herein.

In FIG. 1, human resources database or data store 108 is implemented asa relational database that provides the functions of fetching, indexing,and storing data. In some embodiments, human resources database 108stores data generated by one or more software modules operating withother human resources systems. In these embodiments, human resourcesdatabase 108 provides the aforementioned data and other stored data andfiles to one or more software modules within huddle management system110 for further analysis. In some embodiments, human resources database108 stores a data feed which is provided then to one or more softwaremodules operating within huddle management system 110, to update theinformation stored in electronic huddle board database 106. In theseembodiments, the ID fields provide means for associating informationrelated to the same huddle board or team member and stored withinelectronic huddle board database 106, internal database 104 and/or humanresources database 108.

In exemplary embodiments, internal database 104, electronic huddle boarddatabase 106 and human resources database 108 grant access to huddlemanagement system 110 when needed and can be implemented throughdatabase management systems (DBMS) such as, for example, MySQL,PostgreSQL, SQLite, SAP, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, Oracle,PeopleSoft, dBASE, FoxPro, IBM DB2, LibreOffice Base, FileMaker Proand/or any other type of database that can organize collections of data.In these embodiments, internal database 104, electronic huddle boarddatabase 106 and human resources database 108 can be implemented usingapplication protocols for accessing and maintaining distributeddirectory information services or data feeds such as, for example,Lightweight Directory Access Control (LDAP), among others.

In some embodiments, huddle management system 110 generates userinterface 120 which requests and/or collects information from one ormore client computing devices 122 through which users interact with userinterface 120 via an input/output (I/O) device such as, a touch screenor a mouse, a keyboard and/or a keypad working in concert with adisplay, and others. In these embodiments, authentication module 112receives the user's credentials through client computing device 122 andvalidates those credentials in order to assign permissions to access,start, edit, and/or otherwise manage one or more huddle boards. Furtherto these embodiments, data processing module 114 processes theinformation collected during an active huddle session and stores thisinformation at internal database 104, when needed.

In some embodiments, data processing module 114 is further configured toautomatically retrieve information requested by one or more clientcomputing devices 122 and/or one or more software modules. In theseembodiments, this information is obtained from internal database 104,electronic huddle board database 106 and/or human resources database108. In other embodiments this information is obtained from theoperation of one or more software modules within huddle managementsystem 110.

In some embodiments, huddle board management module 116 runs anautomatic process to update a list of huddle board participants, whichmay include the process of adding or eliminating team members from thelist of participants of one or more huddle boards, and/or modifying adotted line member's permissions within one or more huddle boards. Inthese embodiments, module manager 118 interacts with one or moresoftware modules operating within huddle management system 110 tocontrol the operation of the huddle collaboration system and processrequests from one or more client computing devices 122 and/or one ormore software modules, among other activities.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary computing device 200 in which one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure may operate. In one embodiment,computing device 200 includes bus 202, input/output (I/O) device 204,communication interface 206, memory 208, storage device 210 and centralprocessing unit (CPU) 212. In another embodiment, computing device 200includes additional, fewer, different, or differently arrangedcomponents than those illustrated in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, bus 202 is in physical communication with I/O device 204,communication interface 206, memory 208, storage device 210 and centralprocessing unit 212. Bus 202 includes a path that permits componentswithin computing device 200 to communicate with each other. Examples ofI/O device 204 include any suitable peripheral and/or other mechanismsthat enable a user to input information to computing device 200 such as,for example, a keyboard, a computer mouse, a track ball, other inputbuttons, touch screens, voice recognition devices, biometric mechanismsdevices and the like. I/O device 204 also includes a mechanism thatoutputs information to the user of computing device 200 such as, forexample, a display, a light emitting diode (LED), a printer, a speakerand the like.

In FIG. 2, communication interface 206 is a device that enablescomputing device 200 to communicate with other computing devices and/orsystems through communication networks (not shown in FIG. 2), such as,for example, Wi-Fi cards, Ethernet and the like. Communication networksrefer to any suitable communication network between computers thatallows computing device 200 to exchange data, such as, for example,intranets, local area networks (LANs), virtual private networks (VPNs),wide area networks (WANs), the internet and the like. Memory 208 is adevice that stores software programs or data used in computing device200, such as, for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory(ROM), flash memory and the like. Storage device 210 is a device thatstores and retrieves information, such as, for example, magnetic and/oroptical recording medium, Ferro-electric RAM (F-RAM) hard disks,solid-state drives, floppy disks, optical discs and the like. In oneembodiment, memory 208 and storage device 210 store information andinstructions for execution by one or more central processing units 212.Examples of suitable central processing units 212 include amicroprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable object array (FPOA) and the like. In this embodiment,central processing unit 212 interprets and executes instructionsretrieved from memory 208 and storage device 210.

In some embodiments, computing device 200 can be implemented as part ofa server, a client computing device and the like. Examples of suitableimplementations of computing device 200 include servers, authorizedclient computing devices 122, smartphones, desktop computers, laptopcomputers, tablet computers, PDAs and other types ofprocessor-controlled devices that receive, process, and/or transmitdigital data. In an example, computing device 200 performs certainoperations that are required for the proper operation of systemarchitecture 100. Suitable computing devices 200 perform theseoperations as a result of central processing unit 212 executing softwareinstructions contained within a computer-readable medium, such as withinmemory 208.

In one embodiment, the software instructions of the system are read intomemory 208 from another memory location, such as from storage device210, or from another computing device 200 (e.g., client computingdevices 122 and the like) via communication interface 206. In thisembodiment, the software instructions contained within memory 208instructs central processing unit 212 to perform processes that will befurther described in FIG. 3, below. Alternatively, hardwired circuitrymay be used in place of or in combination with software instructions toimplement the processes described herein. Thus, implementationsdescribed herein are not limited to any specific combinations ofhardware circuitry and software.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram of a sub-system of systemarchitecture 100 pertaining to a huddle management system such as, forexample, huddle management system 110 of FIG. 1. In FIG. 3, sub-system300 includes internal database 302, electronic huddle board database304, human resources (HR) database 306, and huddle board managementmodule 308. It should be understood that huddle management system 110can include less components, more components, or different componentsdepending on the desired analysis goals. In an example referring to FIG.1, huddle board management module 308 is implemented as huddle boardmanagement module 116 within system architecture 100. In FIG. 3, huddleboard management module 308 is operatively coupled to and in two-waycommunication with internal database 302, electronic huddle boarddatabase 304 and human resources database 306.

In FIG. 3, huddle board management module 308 is implemented as one ormore computer software modules that include programmatic rules or logicfor executing/running different user interfaces to update a list ofhuddle board participants which may include the process of adding oreliminating team members from the list of participants of one or morehuddle boards and/or modifying a dotted line member's permissions withrespect to one or more huddle boards. According to some embodiments,huddle board management module 308 receives a feed of data from humanresources database 306. In this embodiment, huddle board managementmodule 308 analyzes the latest data feed received to identify a list ofhuddle boards and the corresponding list of participants for each huddleboard.

In some embodiments, huddle board management module 308 then comparesthese previously identified lists of huddle boards and huddle boardparticipants, with the information related to those huddle boards andhuddle board participants stored in electronic huddle board database 304and with the organizational chart of the company stored in internaldatabase 302. In these embodiments, electronic huddle board database 304includes the following: the profile of each huddle board including anidentification (ID) field which identifies each huddle board withinelectronic huddle board database 304; the profile of each team memberincluding a unique ID which identifies each team member withinelectronic huddle board database 304; the links between one or morehuddle boards and one or more team members via one or more ID fields;and the link between huddle boards to determine hierarchy; among others.Further to these embodiments, these ID fields provide means forassociating information related to the same huddle board or huddle boardparticipant within electronic huddle board database 304, internaldatabase 302, and/or human resources database 306. In one embodiment,the organizational chart of the company can be automatically updated ininternal database 302 as the participants change their position withinthe company.

The electronic huddle board database or the huddle management system canperiodically (e.g., hourly, daily, weekly) determine the status of theorganization chart and whether there are any changes from a previousversion. Alternatively, the electronic huddle board database or thehuddle management system can make this determination on a real-timebasis, which can be based upon a data feed from a database that alertsas to any changes or the electronic huddle board database or huddlemanagement system can detect when a change has been made.

In an embodiment, huddle board management module 308 uses state of theart data mining and other data processing tools to identify any changesin the current list of huddle boards, in the current list ofparticipants associated with each huddle board, and in each dotted linemember's current permissions within one or more huddle boards. In thisembodiment, huddle board management module 308 then performs anynecessary modifications of the huddle boards and the list of huddleboard participants. As a result, the information related to the modifiedhuddle boards and the list of huddle board participants stored inelectronic huddle board database 304 is automatically updated.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary user interface illustrating an exemplary list ofparticipants associated with a huddle board. In some embodiments, anauthorized user can interact with user interface 400 through one or moreclient computing devices such as, for example, computing device 200. Inan example, exemplary user interface 400 is generated by a huddlecollaboration system as shown in FIG. 1, which includes components ofthe exemplary operating environments of FIGS. 1-3.

In FIG. 4, user interface 400 provides authorized users with means tomanage a list of huddle board participants. In FIG. 4, managing board402 is a portion of a huddle board that displays within user field 404one or more users associated with the huddle board. In one embodiment,managing board 402 additionally displays one or more components 406 ofthe huddle board.

In FIG. 4, user field 404 of managing board 402 illustrates a boarddelegate 408 which corresponds to the huddle leader, and one or moreboard members 410 which correspond to the huddle board's otherparticipants. In one embodiment, board members 410 include one or moreteam members, according to information derived from an electronic huddleboard database; and one or more dotted line members which are includedin the huddle board by board delegate 408.

In this embodiment, user interface 400 includes hide button 412 andremove button 414 that enables board delegate 408 to hide one or moreteam members from the organizational chart within the electronic huddleboard database, and/or remove one or more dotted line members, whenneeded. In addition, user interface 400 includes a new dotted linemember(s) search field 416 and delegate member(s) search field 418 thatallow authorized users to search for new dotted line members, search fordelegate members, and drag 420 the name of one or more team members toadd them to the list of huddle board participants, among other features.

Further to this embodiment, user interface 400 is configured todynamically update the links between huddle boards and team memberswhenever board delegate 408 initiates hide button 412 to hide a teammember from the organizational chart within the electronic huddle boarddatabase and/or initiates remove button 414 to remove a dotted linemember, among others. Similarly, whenever board delegate 408 drags 420the name of a team member to the list of huddle board participants, thelinks between huddle boards and team members is dynamically updated,which directly affects the sort order stored in the electronic huddleboard database.

FIG. 5A is an exemplary user interface for managing a team member'shuddle boards. In some embodiments, an authorized user can interact withuser interface 500 through one or more client computing devices such as,for example, computing device 200. In an example, exemplary userinterface 500 is generated by a huddle collaboration system as shown inFIG. 1, which includes components of the exemplary operatingenvironments of FIGS. 1-3.

In some embodiments, user interface 500 provides users, such as a huddleleader and a huddle participant, with means to manage their huddleboards. According to some embodiments, user interface 500 displays oneor more huddle boards with which they are participants. In theseembodiments, whenever a user is participating in multiple huddle boardsor whenever a user is a leader of one or more huddle boards, userinterface 500 presents the user with one or more huddle boards the userwishes to view by default. In an example, the aforementioned huddleboards are presented to the user using a hierarchical organization. Inthis embodiment, the user's huddle boards are characterized as a parentboard 502 or a sibling board 504 depending on the hierarchy that isdetermined by the existing links between one huddle board and another.In an example, the existing links between one huddle board and anothercan be derived from an electronic huddle board database.

Referring to FIG. 5B, an exemplary graphical user interface configuredto be displayed on a computing device is shown. The graphical userinterface has a landing page, whereby a user can be a member or managerof multiple boards, and the graphical user interface presents an optionas to which to view on login. Upon entering proper credentials, the useris presented with a graphical user interface for display on thecomputing device of the user. The system determines which boards theuser has access and generates the user interface for presentation on thecomputing device to display the different boards available to the user.The system determines the current status of the organization chart,determines the user's role within the organization chart, determines alevel of access associated with that role or items associated with thatrole, identifies the boards associated with the level of access or itemsassociated with that role, and presents to the user the available boardsfor which the user has accessibility. In this example, the user managesthe board for “Infrastructure Solution Delivery,” and the user reportsto the boards for “Infrastructure Solution Delivery” and “Web andDatabase Engineering SOL.” The user can select a desired board on thegraphical user interface, and a message is transmitted requesting thatthe selected board is displayed accordingly. The user may also selectfor the system to remember the decision such that future authenticationsessions will direct the graphical user interface to automaticallypresent the selected board.

A computing device having a graphical user interface can be associatedwith an acting manager. The acting manager may not be listed as amanager in the organization chart, but may have a predetermined level ofcontrol of a huddle board, thereby overriding the requirements of themanagement module.

The user can interact with user interface 500 via an input device, toselect buttons 506 associated with one of the huddle boards and analyzeadditional information of the selected huddle boards, when needed. Userscan also select search button 508 for searching one or more huddleboards presented to the user in huddle board list 510 and/or one or moreindividuals and/or teams presented to the user in people's list 512.Such searching may include the ability to use keyword strings totraverse the organizational hierarchy structure. In one embodiment,search results include name field 514 identifying the name of eachhuddle board in huddle board list 510 found matching the keywordstrings, as well as, leader field 516 identifying the leader associatedwith a particular huddle board in huddle board's list 510.

In some embodiments, search results also include people name field 518identifying the name of individuals and/or teams in people list 512found matching the keyword strings, a huddle board field 520 identifyingthe name of the huddle board with which each individual from people list512 is participant, and a leader name field 522 identifying the leaderassociated with a particular huddle board in which each individual orteam from people list 512 reports to.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for managing a list of huddle boardparticipants, according to another embodiment. In this embodiment, ahuddle board management module operating within a huddle managementsystem of a huddle collaboration system analyzes the informationreceived from the latest feed of data generated by a human resourcesdatabase, to identify a list of huddle boards and the corresponding listof participants for each huddle board. Then, the huddle board managementmodule compares this information with the information stored in anelectronic huddle board database and with the organizational chart ofthe company stored within the internal database. Further to thisembodiment, the huddle board management module identifies any changes inthe list of huddle boards, in the list of participants associated witheach huddle board and in each dotted line member's permissions withinone or more huddle boards. The huddle board management module runs anautomatic process to perform the necessary modifications in the huddleboards according to the previously identified changes, consequentlyupdating the electronic huddle board database information.

A plurality of steps included in method 600 may be performed by one ormore computing devices such as, for example, computing device 200.Method 600 is implemented with components of the exemplary operatingenvironments of FIGS. 1-5. The steps of method 600 are embodied in acomputer readable medium containing computer readable code such that thesteps are implemented when the computer readable code is executed by acomputing device. In some implementations, certain steps of method 600can be combined, performed simultaneously, or in a different order,without deviating from the objective of method 600.

Method 600 begins at step 602, when a huddle board management modulegenerates a list of huddle boards (HBs) and a corresponding list ofparticipants for each huddle board, using state of the art data miningand other data processing tools. These lists are generated based oninformation derived from the latest data feed provided by a humanresources database. In an embodiment, the generated lists include onehuddle board per geographical area of each department within thecompany. Method 600 then advances to step 604.

At step 604, the huddle board management module identifies in the listgenerated in step 602 the huddle boards pertaining to differentgeographical areas of the same department within the company. In thisembodiment, the analysis module merges those huddle boards pertaining todifferent geographical areas of the same department, into a singlehuddle board, when needed. Method 600 then advances to step 606.

At step 606, the huddle board management module generates a list ofhuddle boards based on the information derived from an electronic huddleboard database, using data mining and other data processing tools.Method 600 then advances to step 608.

At step 608, the huddle board management module analyzes each huddleboard from the merged list of huddle boards obtained during step 604, toidentify one or more modifications that have to be applied to the listof huddle boards. In this embodiment, the huddle board management modulecompares the merged list of huddle boards obtained during step 604, withthe list of huddle boards generated in step 606 and updates theinformation related to each huddle board, according to the identifiedmodifications. The process of updating each huddle board will be furtherdescribed in FIG. 7, below. Method 600 then advances to step 610.

At step 610, the huddle board management module generates a list of thehuddle board participants associated with the huddle board analyzed andupdated in step 608. In one embodiment, this list is derived from theinformation stored in the electronic huddle board database. Method 600then advances to step 612.

At step 612, the huddle board management module analyzes a huddle boardparticipant from the merged list of huddle board participants obtainedin step 604, to identify one or more modifications that have to beapplied to the list of huddle board participants associated to thehuddle board analyzed and updated in step 608. In this embodiment, thehuddle board management module compares the merged list of huddle boardparticipants obtained during step 604, with the list of huddle boardparticipants generated in step 610 and with the organizational chart ofthe company. Further to this embodiment, the huddle board managementmodule updates the list of huddle board participants, according to theidentified modifications. The process of updating each list of huddleboard participants will be further described in FIG. 8, below. Method600 then advances to step 614.

At step 614, the huddle board management module determines whether thereis a need to analyze another participant of the huddle board analyzed instep 608, to identify one or more modifications that have to be appliedto the list of huddle board participants. If there is a need to analyzeanother participant of the huddle board analyzed and updated in step608, then method 600 advances to step 612 to select, analyze and updateat least one more participant of the huddle board analyzed in step 608.Otherwise, method 600 advances to step 616.

At step 616, the huddle board management module updates the parent linksand the child links of the huddle board analyzed and updated in step608, to define the huddle board hierarchy in the electronic huddle boarddatabase. Method 600 then advances to step 618.

At step 618, the huddle board management module removes the huddle boardanalyzed and updated in step 608 from the list of huddle boards obtainedduring step 606. Method 600 then advances to step 620.

At step 620, the huddle board management module determines if there is aneed to analyze another huddle board from the merged list of huddleboards obtained in step 604. If there is a need to analyze anotherhuddle board from the merged list obtained during step 604, then method600 advances to step 608 to select, analyze and update at least one morehuddle board from the merged list obtained during step 604. Otherwise,method 600 advances to step 622.

At step 622, the huddle board management module identifies the remaininghuddle boards from the list of huddle boards obtained during step 606,which have not been analyzed and updated in step 608. Method 600 thenadvances to step 624.

At step 624, the huddle board management module marks all the huddleboards identified in step 622 as inactive in the electronic huddle boarddatabase, because they are no longer in the latest data feed received.Then, method 600 ends.

By executing method 600 through the exemplary operating environmentsshown in FIGS. 1-5, data mining techniques and other data processingtools can be implemented for a more efficient and faster processing oflarger data sets. Method 600 enables the automatic update of permissionsassigned to a team member in one or more huddle boards, to be processedin a far-reaching manner than possible with human-interventiondata-driven analysis. In this way, efficiencies are created by providingmeans for enhancing the productivity of the huddle, as compared toconventional processes employing established methodology. These featuresallow performing large work such as time consuming analysis and updatesof huddle boards and huddle board participants, in a more efficientmanner than other approaches such as manual work performed by humans.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method for automatically updating a huddleboard, according to another embodiment. In an example referring to FIG.6, method 700 describes the operations performed in step 608 of method600 in further detail. In this embodiment, a huddle board managementmodule operating within a huddle management system of a huddlecollaboration system, analyzes each huddle board from the list of huddleboards derived from the latest feed of data provided by a humanresources database, to identify any modifications that have to beapplied to the list of huddle boards. In this embodiment, the huddleboard management module determines, based on this analysis, whetherthere is a need to create an entry for the huddle board in theelectronic huddle board database. Further to this embodiment, the huddleboard management module updates the name of the huddle board in theelectronic huddle board database, when needed.

A plurality of steps included in method 700 may be performed by one ormore computing devices such as, for example, computing device 200.Method 700 is implemented with components of the exemplary operatingenvironments of FIGS. 1-5. The steps of method 700 are embodied in acomputer readable medium containing computer readable code such that thesteps are implemented when the computer readable code is executed by acomputing device. In some implementations, certain steps of method 700can be combined, performed simultaneously, or in a different order,without deviating from the objective of method 700.

Method 700 begins at step 702, when a huddle board management moduleselects a huddle board within the list of huddle boards derived from thelatest data feed provided by a human resources database. In thisembodiment, the huddle board management module analyzes the informationrelated to the selected huddle board using data mining and other dataprocessing tools, to determine if there is a corresponding huddle boardin the list of huddle boards derived from the information stored in anelectronic huddle board database. Method 700 then advances to step 704.

At step 704, the huddle board management module determines whether afirst huddle board analyzed at step 702, has a corresponding huddleboard in the list of huddle boards derived from the information storedin the electronic huddle board database. In this embodiment, the huddleboard management module compares the list of huddle boards generatedfrom the latest data feed provided by the human resources database, withthe list of huddle boards generated from the information stored in theelectronic huddle board database, to determine any modifications thatneed to be applied to the list of huddle boards. If there is nocorresponding huddle board in the list of huddle boards derived from theinformation stored in the electronic huddle board database, then method700 advances to step 706. Otherwise, method 700 advances to step 708.

At step 706, whenever the huddle board analyzed at step 702 does nothave a corresponding huddle board in the list of huddle boards derivedfrom the information stored in the electronic huddle board database, thehuddle board management module creates a new huddle board for the huddleboard analyzed at step 702 based on information derived from the latestdata feed received. The process of creating a new huddle board includeslinking one or more team members to the new huddle board when needed,and adding a “default” section to the huddle board. Method 700 thenends.

At step 708, whenever the huddle board analyzed at step 702 has acorresponding huddle board in the list of huddle boards derived from theinformation stored in the electronic huddle board database, the huddleboard management module determines whether the name of the huddle boardanalyzed at step 702 has changed. If the name of the huddle board hasnot changed, then method 700 ends. Otherwise, method 700 advances tostep 710.

At step 710, whenever the name of the huddle board analyzed at step 702has changed, the huddle board management module updates the name fieldof the huddle board analyzed at step 702 within the electronic huddleboard database, according to information derived from the latest datafeed received. Then, method 700 ends.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method 800 for automatically updating a listof huddle board participants, according to another embodiment. In anexample referring to FIG. 6, method 800 describes in further detail theoperations performed in step 612 of method 600. In this embodiment, ahuddle board management module operating within a huddle managementsystem of a huddle collaboration system analyzes each team memberincluded within a list of huddle board participants derived from thelatest feed of data provided by a human resources database. Further tothis embodiment, the huddle board management module uses the list ofparticipants obtained from information derived from an electronic huddleboard database and the organizational chart of the company, to determinewhether the team member should be included in the list of huddle boardparticipants.

A plurality of steps included in method 800 may be performed by one ormore computing devices such as, for example, computing device 200.Method 800 is implemented with components of the exemplary operatingenvironments of FIGS. 1-5. The steps of method 800 are embodied in acomputer readable medium containing computer readable code such that thesteps are implemented when the computer readable code is executed by acomputing device. In some implementations, certain steps of method 800can be combined, performed simultaneously, or in a different order,without deviating from the objective of method 800.

Method 800 starts at step 802, when a huddle board management moduleselects a huddle board participant in the list of huddle boardparticipants derived from the latest data feed provided by a humanresources database. In this embodiment, the huddle board managementmodule analyzes the information related to the selected huddle boardparticipant using data mining and other data processing tools, todetermine if the selected huddle board participant is included in thelist of huddle board participants obtained from information stored in anelectronic huddle board database. Method 800 then advances to step 804.

At step 804, the huddle board management module determines whether afirst huddle board participant analyzed at step 802 is included in thelist of huddle board participants obtained from information stored inthe electronic huddle board database. In this embodiment, the huddleboard management module compares the list of huddle board participantsgenerated from the latest data feed provided by the human resourcesdatabase, with the list of huddle board participants generated from theinformation stored in the electronic huddle board database, to determineany modifications that need to be applied to the list of huddle boardparticipants. If the analyzed huddle board participant is not includedin the list of huddle board participants generated from informationstored in the electronic huddle board database, then method 800 advancesto step 806. Otherwise, method 800 advances to step 808.

At step 806, whenever the huddle board participant analyzed at step 802is not included in the list of huddle board participants generated frominformation stored in the electronic huddle board database, the huddleboard management module adds an entry in the electronic huddle boarddatabase, for the huddle board participant analyzed at step 802. Method800 then advances to step 808.

At step 808, the huddle board management module determines whether thehuddle board participant analyzed in step 802, is in the organizationalchart of the company which is stored in the internal database. In thisembodiment, the huddle board management module determines if the huddleboard participant's permissions within the huddle board need to bemodified as a result of a change of the huddle board participant'sposition within the company. If the huddle board participant analyzed atstep 802 is in the organizational chart of the company, then method 800advances to step 810. Otherwise, method 800 advances to step 812.

At step 810, the huddle board management module adds the huddle boardparticipant analyzed at step 802 to the list of participants of thehuddle board; as a result the link between the huddle board and thehuddle board participant in the electronic huddle board database, isautomatically updated. In exemplary embodiments, whenever the huddleboard participant analyzed at step 802 is a dotted line member who isnow part of the huddle board per the organizational chart of thecompany, the huddle board management module adds the huddle boardparticipant analyzed at step 802 to the list of participants of thehuddle board, characterized as a real user; as a result the link betweenthe huddle board and the huddle board participant in the electronichuddle board database, is automatically updated. Then, method 800 ends.

At step 812, whenever the huddle board participant analyzed at step 802is not in the organizational chart of the company, the huddle boardmanagement module removes the huddle board participant from the list ofhuddle board participants; as a result the link between the huddle boardand the huddle board participant in the electronic huddle boarddatabase, is automatically updated. Method 800 then advances to step814.

At step 814, the huddle board management module removes the huddle boardparticipant who was removed from the list of huddle board participantsat step 812, from the list of members in the organizational chart of thehuman resources database. Then, method 800 ends.

In one embodiment, a system comprises an electronic huddle board datastore configured to store a record of each huddle board; and a servercommunicatively coupled to the electronic huddle board data store andconfigured to identify one or more huddle board participants from ahuman resources data store who are identified in the electronic huddleboard data store as being associated with at least one huddle boardrecord, determine a permission level for each huddle board participantfor each huddle board record, determine any changes to an organizationchart retrieved from a data store, update each permission level for eachhuddle board participant for each huddle board record based upon anychanges to the organization chart involving the huddle boardparticipant, store each updated permission level in the electronichuddle board database, and transmit data describing how to render one ormore huddle boards associated with the one or more huddle board recordsto a huddle board participant based upon the updated permission level.

In another embodiment, a computer-implemented method comprisesgenerating, by a server, a record for each huddle board record derivedfrom an electronic huddle board data store; obtaining, by the server, aset of records identifying one or more huddle board participants derivedfrom a human resources data store who are identified in the electronichuddle board data store as being associated with at least one huddleboard record; determining, by the server, a permission level for eachhuddle board participant for each huddle board record; determining, bythe server, any changes to an organization chart retrieved from a datastore; updating, by the server, each permission level for each huddleboard participant for each huddle board record based upon any changes tothe organization chart involving the huddle board participant; storing,by the server, each updated permission level in the electronic huddleboard data store; and transmitting, by the server, data describing howto render one or more huddle boards associated with one or more huddleboard records to a huddle board participant based upon the updatedpermission level.

In yet another embodiment, a computer implemented method comprisesreceiving, by a server, a request for a huddle board participant toaccess an electronic huddle board session; obtaining, by the server, arecord of the huddle board participant from a human resources datastore; querying, by the server, an electronic huddle board data store todetermine whether the huddle board participant is entitled to access theelectronic huddle board session; and updating, by the server, theelectronic huddle board data store based upon changes in anorganizational chart of a company employing the huddle boardparticipant.

Example #1 refers to the update of a list of huddle board participantsemploying the methods described in FIGS. 6-8 which is implemented withcomponents of the exemplary operating environments of FIGS. 1-5. Anindividual working for an automotive manufacturer, in a supervisoryposition in the finance department, has been promoted to a managementposition in the marketing department. As a result, his profile and thelinks between his profile and one or more huddle boards within theelectronic huddle board database of the huddle collaboration system havebeen modified. Specifically, the present invention automatically updatesthe permission level of the individual so that the individual may accessthe huddle board of the marketing department in response to a detectedchange of the organizational chart reflecting the promotion of theindividual to the management position in the marketing department.

Example #2 refers to the update of a team member's permissions in ahuddle board employing the methods described in FIGS. 6-8 which isimplemented with components of the exemplary operating environments ofFIGS. 1-5. An individual working for an automotive manufacturer isincluded in the huddle board of the marketing department as a dottedline member because he does not officially work for the leader of thehuddle board, according to the organizational chart of the company.However, as soon as the dotted line member becomes part of the marketingdepartment per the organizational chart of the company through a changeof his position within the company, the huddle board management moduleruns an automatic process to update the links between the team member'sprofile and one or more huddle boards in the electronic huddle boarddatabase; which includes the process of changing his dotted line memberstatus in the huddle board of the marketing department to a real userstatus, among others. Specifically, the huddle board management moduleautomatically updates the permission level of the team member so thatthe team member may access the huddle board of the marketing departmentin response to a detected change in the organizational chart reflectingthe team member becoming part of the marketing department.

The foregoing method descriptions and the interface configuration areprovided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to requireor imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed inthe order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the artthe steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order.Words such as “then,” “next,” etc. are not intended to limit the orderof the steps; these words are simply used to guide the reader throughthe description of the methods. Although process flow diagrams maydescribe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operationscan be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order ofthe operations may be re-arranged. A process may correspond to a method,a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a processcorresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to a return ofthe function to the calling function or the main function.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosedhere may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, orcombinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability ofhardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules,circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms oftheir functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented ashardware or software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans mayimplement the described functionality in varying ways for eachparticular application, but such implementation decisions should not beinterpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the presentinvention.

Embodiments implemented in computer software may be implemented insoftware, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware descriptionlanguages, or any combination thereof. A code segment ormachine-executable instructions may represent a procedure, a function, asubprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a softwarepackage, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures,or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another codesegment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information,data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments,parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via anysuitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing,network transmission, etc.

The actual software code or specialized control hardware used toimplement these systems and methods is not limiting of the invention.Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and methods weredescribed without reference to the specific software code beingunderstood that software and control hardware can be designed toimplement the systems and methods based on the description here.

When implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or moreinstructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable orprocessor-readable storage medium. The steps of a method or algorithmdisclosed here may be embodied in a processor-executable software modulewhich may reside on a computer-readable or processor-readable storagemedium. A non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable mediaincludes both computer storage media and tangible storage media thatfacilitate transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Anon-transitory processor-readable storage media may be any availablemedia that may be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such non-transitory processor-readable media may compriseRAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other tangible storagemedium that may be used to store desired program code in the form ofinstructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a computeror processor. Disk and disc, as used here, include compact disc (CD),laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, andBlu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, whilediscs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the aboveshould also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.Additionally, the operations of a method or algorithm may reside as oneor any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on anon-transitory processor-readable medium and/or computer-readablemedium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.

The preceding description of the disclosed embodiments is provided toenable any person skilled in the art to make or use the presentinvention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles definedhere may be applied to other embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown here but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the following claims and theprinciples and novel features disclosed here.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: an electronic huddle boarddata store configured to store a record of at least one huddle board; ahuman resources data store configured to store a record of a pluralityof huddle board participants; and a server communicatively coupled tothe electronic huddle board data store, the human resources data store,and the internal data store, wherein the server is configured to:identify one or more huddle board participants of the plurality ofhuddle board participants from the human resources data store beingassociated with the at least one huddle board record stored in theelectronic huddle board data store; receive a request from a computingdevice of at least one huddle board participants of the one or morehuddle board participants operating one or more computing devices for aweb-based interaction with other huddle board participants; uponreceiving the request from the at least one huddle board participant,generate an electronic session for the web-based interaction between theone or more huddle board participants; receive and validate a credentialof each of the one or more huddle board participants transmitted fromtheir one or more computing devices for participation in the electronicsession, wherein during the electronic session, each of the one or morehuddle board participants is assigned a permission level to access andedit one or more sub-applications of the at least one huddle board basedon the credential and information associated with each of the one ormore huddle board participants; update a list and the permission levelof the one or more huddle board participants in the electronic sessionupon identification of one or more modifications to be applied to thelist based on new information associated with the one or more huddleboard participants; and display one or more huddle boards associatedwith the at least one huddle board record in the electronic session on agraphical user interface of the one or more computing devices of the oneor more huddle board participants based upon the permission level foreach of the one or more huddle board participants for each of the atleast one huddle board record, wherein the one or more sub-applicationson the at least one huddle board are sorted and presented based on anumber of times each sub-application has been previously activated byeach huddle board participant.
 2. The system according to claim 1,wherein the server is further configured to grant access to the at leastone huddle board for the one or more huddle board participants basedupon the permission level for the one or more huddle board participants.3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the server is furtherconfigured to deny access to the at least one huddle board for the oneor more huddle board participants based upon the permission level forthe one or more huddle board participants.
 4. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the server is further configured to update thepermission level for each of the one or more huddle board participantsfor each of the huddle board records based upon changes involvinginformation associated with the one or more huddle board participants.5. The system according to claim 4, wherein updating the permissionlevel for each of the one or more huddle board participants for each ofthe huddle board records comprises the server granting access to eachhuddle board derived from the electronic huddle board data store for theone or more huddle board participants based upon the permission levelfor the one or more huddle board participants.
 6. The system accordingto claim 4, wherein updating the permission level for each of the one ormore huddle board participants for each of the huddle board recordscomprises the server denying access to each huddle board derived fromthe electronic huddle board data store for the one or more huddle boardparticipants based upon the permission level for the one or more huddleboard participants.
 7. The system according to claim 4, wherein updatingthe permission level for each of the one or more huddle boardparticipants for each of the huddle board records comprises the servermaintaining the permission level for the one or more huddle boardparticipants when a role of the one or more huddle board participantshas not changed.
 8. A computer-implemented method comprising:identifying, by a server, one or more huddle board participants of aplurality of huddle board participants from a human resources data storebeing associated with at least one huddle board record stored in anelectronic huddle board data store; receiving, by the server, a requestfrom a computing device of at least one huddle board participants of theone or more huddle board participants operating one or more computingdevices for a web-based interaction with other huddle boardparticipants; upon receiving the request from the at least one huddleboard participant, generating, by the server, an electronic session forthe web-based interaction between the one or more huddle boardparticipants; receiving and validating, by the server, a credential ofeach of the one or more huddle board participants transmitted from theirone or more computing devices for participation in the electronicsession, wherein during the electronic session, each of the one or morehuddle board participants is assigned a permission level to access andedit one or more sub-applications of the at least one huddle board basedon the credential and information associated with each of the one ormore huddle board participants; updating, by the server, a list and thepermission level of the one or more huddle board participants in theelectronic session upon identification of one or more modifications tobe applied to the list based on new information associated with the oneor more huddle board participants; and displaying, by the server, one ormore huddle boards associated with the at least one huddle board recordin the electronic session on a graphical user interface of the one ormore computing devices of the one or more huddle board participantsbased upon the permission level for each of the one or more huddle boardparticipants for each of the at least one huddle board record, whereinthe one or more sub-applications on the at least one huddle board aresorted and presented based on a number of times each sub-application hasbeen previously activated by each huddle board participant.
 9. Themethod according to claim 8, further comprising updating, by the server,the permission level for each of the one or more huddle boardparticipants for each of the huddle board records based upon changesinvolving information associated with the one or more huddle boardparticipants.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein updating thepermission level for each of the one or more huddle board participantsfor each of the huddle board records comprises granting, by the server,access to each huddle board derived from the electronic huddle boarddata store for the one or more huddle board participants based upon thepermission level for the one or more huddle board participants.
 11. Themethod according to claim 9, wherein updating the permission level foreach of the one or more huddle board participants for each of the huddleboard records comprises denying, by the server, access to each huddleboard derived from the electronic huddle board data store for the one ormore huddle board participants based upon the permission level for theone or more huddle board participants.
 12. The method according to claim9, wherein updating the permission level for each of the one or morehuddle board participants for each of the huddle board records comprisesmaintaining, by the server, the permission level for the one or morehuddle board participants when a role of the one or more huddle boardparticipants has not changed.
 13. The method according to claim 8,further comprising associating, by the server, each record for eachhuddle board derived from the electronic huddle board data store with apermission level for access for each of the one or more huddle boardparticipants.